Brewers: 3 Players Most Likely To Be Traded This Offseason

2. SS Brice Turang

This would be a little bit of a surprise if the Milwaukee Brewers moved Brice Turang, their 2018 first round draft pick. After all, it’s those types of players that are supposed to keep an organization, especially a small market one, competitive over a long period of time.

He’s the Crew’s top prospect, and only one on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, (coming in at No. 98) and could be the shortstop of the future if Orlando Arcia doesn’t work out over the long haul, but more on that later.

What do the Brewers need to address most of all this offseason? Starting pitching. Should the Brewers deem the free agent prices for starting pitching too high once again, they could go the trade route to acquire one. That will involve giving up some good assets, and Turang is the best asset they have that isn’t already in a vital role on the big league team.

While he’s not the prospect caliber of Keston Hiura or Corbin Burnes, Turang can still make a solid headliner. Just don’t expect him to bring back Corey Kluber or Noah Syndergaard. But for 2nd-tier pitchers like Robbie Ray or Dylan Bundy, Turang can get the conversation started.

Turang dominated Low-A Wisconsin this year, but had a few struggles when jumping up to High-A as a 19 year old. He’ll likely return to High-A Carolina next year as he continues to ascend the Brewers minor league system. He’s a few years away, but the early returns are promising.

For the most part, the Brewers have avoided looking externally for starting pitching options, instead preferring their homegrown candidates. That backfired on them in 2019 and if they don’t look externally for pitching upgrades this winter, they probably never will. Now is the best time to do so.

While Gerrit Cole is going to be the biggest name on the market, he’s out of the Crew’s price range. Other possible starters like Dallas Keuchel, Madison Bumgarner, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Zack Wheeler could make sense, but again could ask for a sum of money larger than the Brewers are willing to pay. That makes the trade route the only way to significantly upgrade the rotation.

If they go the trade route for a starting pitching upgrade, Turang is almost certain to be involved in the return package. There’s no guarantee he’s gone, and this is not advocating for trading Turang away, but if GM David Stearns decides to trade for a starting pitching upgrade, that package begins with Turang.

There’s another shortstop that could be on the block as well.